DPM Chapter 93-Saint Tombs
Translated by Snowfall77
The Saint Tombs had been built on the planet Mars.
Deep in the heart of Alliance territory, ordinary people also lived there, charged with guarding the tombs.
Mozun’s arrival caused no stir. An old man doing some upkeep flicked a disinterested glance at the two men and then went right back to paying them no mind.
“That’s one of the first normal people who eventually came to us,” Mozun told Wu Xingyun. “His family had committed crimes in the Federation, so with no other options he ran to us. There were more of us mutants then……much more. We never thought most of us would be buried here……”
Following Mozun’s footsteps, Wu Xingyun went towards the tombs.
A tall stele loomed against the horizon, the name ‘Wu Yun’ carved on it.
Around the stele were immense stone statues. From the sculpted likenesses Wu Xingyun could easily identify who they belonged to.
Each tomb had the deeds of the deceased engraved upon it. The oldest ones had few words.
Yet as time had inched forward, a hundred years, five hundred years, a thousand years’ worth of stories were chiseled into stone, dense and abundant.
Wu Xingyun read the names of many acquaintances, some who’d protected him, some he’d even fought alongside with.
Finally he took a closer look at his own tomb.
No deeds were recorded on it, only a few words—‘My dearest love, Wu Yun.’
" "Alongside that was scratched—‘It’s useless, the body cannot be recovered. The sorrow is too much. I wish I could die.’
There was no carver signature, but the words were already eroded, clearly very old.
Slightly turning his head, Wu Xingyun caught Mozun watching him.
Wu Xingyun reached out his hand and took Mozun’s palm into his own, both men gazing at the other.
Face to face, they gradually embraced, exchanging deep kisses.
A storm gathered, wind blasting reddish sand and dust everywhere, concealing the two men. Until another strong gust blew it all away.
Mozun released the soldier in his arms. Time danced around them, a never-ending ever-moving river. It didn’t matter though. In this moment they had each other.
“This will probably be my final resting place,” Mozun’s voice was low, “What about you? Will you come here in the end?”
A little taken aback, it took Wu Xingyun a second to understand what Mozun meant.
When Wu Xingyun had said goodbye to Wen Nuo, Wen Nuo had asked: “Will you stand with the Federation……or will you stand with the Night Shard?”
Now the question confronted Wu Xingyun again.
In his heart, Wu Xingyun was at a loss. In the last days, he’d stood together with Mozun without doubts or hesitation. Had there been any other choice? If there had been, Wu Xingyun hadn’t needed it.
But now?
The forefathers of the Federation, those past personal enemies, had already long since died.
This persistent conflict, what was the point?
Wu Xingyun raised his head a little, considering Mozun. Wen Nuo had said: “He no longer treats ordinary Federal citizens the way he treats Federal officials……he can be very merciful when he wants to be.” Was Mozun’s newfound compassion on Wu Xingyun’s behalf?
If Wu Xingyun’s ‘death’ had been one of the main reasons for the ongoing war, then what reasons did Mozun have now?
But could the wrongs done in the past by the Federation simply be forgotten? How could they be erased?
The abandonment, the deceit, the murders, the descent into hell. Who’d be lenient against someone who inflicted such suffering? Who was capable of writing all that off with a stroke?
Lowering his head, Wu Xingyun didn’t know what to say. After a long while, he finally told Mozun: “I want to go see my home.”
Apparently Mozun had an inkling of Wu Xingyun’s inner conflict. He tenderly stroked Wu Xingyun’s hair, saying: “If you say no, know that……I won’t make things difficult for you.”
“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Wu Xingyun rejoined, “I just meant I want to visit my parents and elder brothers.”
Mozun simply nodded: “Alright, I already intended to go with you. Let’s leave here.”
On the next voyage, Mozun made no attempt to travel incognito. He was in his own territory, without need of a commercial spacecraft.
Their cabin was bigger, with plenty of room for Mozun to play with his lover as he wished. But Mozun merely leaned against the porthole, observing Wu Xingyun’s profile.
Rather unusually, Wu Xingyun had been standing completely still for two hours. Mozun hadn’t moved from his position either.
Finally Mozun couldn’t help himself though, asking: “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking……if only those first Federation people were still alive,” Wu Xingyun replied.
Mozun laughed: “No one can live forever. Besides, as I said, I won’t make things difficult for you. No matter what. I think maybe after you’ve gone home, you won’t feel so awkward.”
Raising an eyebrow, Wu Xingyun didn’t quite grasp Mozun’s meaning.
And after that Mozun said nothing else on the subject. He didn’t want to push Wu Xingyun into the Alliance’s fierce fight any more than he wanted to push Wu Xingyun back to the Federation.
But he’d been preparing for Wu Xingyun’s probable hesitation for years.
It took them about a month and a half to arrive at Liu-Mang-Xing, the planet where Wu Xingyun’s parents lived.
Before Wu Xingyun had gone through a black hole for the first time, Liu-Mang-Xing had been where Federation had put the Marshal Shi Fei on trial. Wu Xingyun felt he could never forget what had happened on this planet.
The siege against Mozun hadn’t just torn Wu Xingyun’s body. It’d ripped his heart apart too.
He remembered being captured by Mozun, being taken off planet in Mozun’s escape, leaving behind ashes and ruins. Now, setting foot on the planet again, Wu Xingyun was shocked to discover wreckage nowhere to be seen, but instead tidy streets and residential areas, trees with heart-shaped leaves planted everywhere. Just the way Liu-Mang-Xing had been when he’d first seen it.
“I recall you saying a long time ago you wanted to live where the tree leaves were heart-shaped.” Mozun smiled. “Do you want to go home first, or do you want to roam around first?”
After dithering for a minute, Wu Xingyun decided: “I want……to walk around on my own.”
“That’s fine,” Mozun said, “I’ll wait for you at your parents’ house. I’ll always wait for you.”
Last time Mozun had said: “I’ll be here, waiting for you to come back.” And then they had parted……
But this time Mozun watched Wu Xingyun’s body gradually fade away from sight. And after the soldier turned completely invisible, the corners of Mozun’s mouth curled slightly up.
“I believe you won’t hesitate much more,” Mozun murmured to the air. Humming, he slowly made his way down the streets to Wu Xingyun’s family home.
The first place Wu Xingyun went to was a bookstore.
Beforehand, it’d been Wu Xingyun’s deep-rooted understanding that enemy-occupied territories would be decidedly awful places.
Therefore, when Wen Nuo had told Wu Xingyun that Liu-Mang-Xing had fallen to the Alliance, Wu Xingyun hadn’t only been worried about his own family, he’d also fretted over all the other Federal citizens.
Now Wu Xingyun found his concern had been unnecessary.
Things on the planet were no different than when it’d been under the Federation government.
In the back lanes elderly women still peddled vegetables, their prices hardly risen.
Passionate young people massed in front of the former courthouse, agitating for higher wages, as passerbys came and went with apathetic expressions.
Even the large screen in the central town plaza was the same as in Wu Xingyun’s memory.
Blaring the latest news, it included a live broadcast of a current Alliance-Federation battle.
The new female Federation president was urging citizens of enemy-occupied areas to rise up against their horrid oppressor, the Night Shard. From the other side, Liu Meng appealed to any willing person to join the Demon Army and fight off the Federation under the protection of the mutants.
It was even brazenly publicized that Federation troops were defecting. Blankly watching the screen, Wu Xingyun was surprised when a little girl selling roses ran up to him: “Sir, buy a flower!”
Everything seemed to be operating as a regular society. Nothing matched the Federation’s propaganda that occupied territories were suffering travails and hardships.
Then the screen switched to its primetime show.
Everyone loved ‘Star River Team,’ and it played as it had for years, with the same repetitive plotline. Not even the character visuals had changed.
There came the: “Hahaha, I’m back!” Pedestrians heard the sound and stopped their footsteps, raising their heads to watch the absolutely moronic show that ostensibly would never end.
Remaining invisible, Wu Xingyun walked to his parents’ housing complex and got on the elevator.
Riding the elevator was the same elderly neighbor Wu Xingyun had met last time he’d visited with Mozun. Only now she was completely white-haired and toothless.
Bragging to her grandson alongside her, she said: “Speaking of the devil, I once rode this same elevator with the Night Shard. He was much better-looking than he is on TV.”
" "Ding. The elevator stopped at Wu Xingyun’s home floor. Wu Xingyun found it a little odd. He hadn’t pressed the button for it and neither had the grandmother. So who had?
The elevator door leisurely slid open, revealing a tall, slender man with an amiable smile.
“Look,” the grandmother explained to her grandson, “The Night Shard looks like this man, only a bit more handsome……”
The grandson bobbed his head: “He doesn’t look like the devil in the cartoon……”
Wu Xingyun stealthily exited the elevator. When its door closed again, the corridor appeared empty.
Expending his energy, Wu Xingyun’s form gradually came into view.
Taking a step forward, Mozun pulled at Wu Xingyun’s hand: “I’ve been waiting a long time for you. Let’s go in together.”
A little puzzled, Wu Xingyun asked: “You’ve been waiting here the whole time? Why didn’t you go in?”
Mozun laughed: “I’m afraid of my fierce father-in-law. I don’t dare drop by alone. But if you’re with me, I’ll have the courage to go in.”
Tilting his head, Wu Xingyun gave Mozun an inquisitive look.
“When he sees me, it reminds him of how you died,” Mozun told Wu Xingyun, “He’s already very old, it’s not good for his health to get angry every day……I usually have other people take care of necessary matters. As much as possible, I don’t show my face.”
Nodding, Wu Xingyun pressed the doorbell.
The door opened, answered by Wu Xingyun’s mother.
Her eyes skimmed over Wu Xingyun, not registering him, but instead staring at Mozun behind him.
But after a second, it dawned on her.
“Xingyun……?” Her voice almost timid, “Is it……is it you?”
Wu Xingyun couldn’t hold back any longer. He threw himself at his mother, wrapping her in a hug: “Mom……it’s me, I’ve come back……
DPM Chapter 93-Saint Tombs
Translated by Snowfall77
The Saint Tombs had been built on the planet Mars.
Deep in the heart of Alliance territory, ordinary people also lived there, charged with guarding the tombs.
Mozun’s arrival caused no stir. An old man doing some upkeep flicked a disinterested glance at the two men and then went right back to paying them no mind.
“That’s one of the first normal people who eventually came to us,” Mozun told Wu Xingyun. “His family had committed crimes in the Federation, so with no other options he ran to us. There were more of us mutants then……much more. We never thought most of us would be buried here……”
Following Mozun’s footsteps, Wu Xingyun went towards the tombs.
A tall stele loomed against the horizon, the name ‘Wu Yun’ carved on it.
Around the stele were immense stone statues. From the sculpted likenesses Wu Xingyun could easily identify who they belonged to.
Each tomb had the deeds of the deceased engraved upon it. The oldest ones had few words.
Yet as time had inched forward, a hundred years, five hundred years, a thousand years’ worth of stories were chiseled into stone, dense and abundant.
Wu Xingyun read the names of many acquaintances, some who’d protected him, some he’d even fought alongside with.
Finally he took a closer look at his own tomb.
No deeds were recorded on it, only a few words—‘My dearest love, Wu Yun.’
" "Alongside that was scratched—‘It’s useless, the body cannot be recovered. The sorrow is too much. I wish I could die.’
There was no carver signature, but the words were already eroded, clearly very old.
Slightly turning his head, Wu Xingyun caught Mozun watching him.
Wu Xingyun reached out his hand and took Mozun’s palm into his own, both men gazing at the other.
Face to face, they gradually embraced, exchanging deep kisses.
A storm gathered, wind blasting reddish sand and dust everywhere, concealing the two men. Until another strong gust blew it all away.
Mozun released the soldier in his arms. Time danced around them, a never-ending ever-moving river. It didn’t matter though. In this moment they had each other.
“This will probably be my final resting place,” Mozun’s voice was low, “What about you? Will you come here in the end?”
A little taken aback, it took Wu Xingyun a second to understand what Mozun meant.
When Wu Xingyun had said goodbye to Wen Nuo, Wen Nuo had asked: “Will you stand with the Federation……or will you stand with the Night Shard?”
Now the question confronted Wu Xingyun again.
In his heart, Wu Xingyun was at a loss. In the last days, he’d stood together with Mozun without doubts or hesitation. Had there been any other choice? If there had been, Wu Xingyun hadn’t needed it.
But now?
The forefathers of the Federation, those past personal enemies, had already long since died.
This persistent conflict, what was the point?
Wu Xingyun raised his head a little, considering Mozun. Wen Nuo had said: “He no longer treats ordinary Federal citizens the way he treats Federal officials……he can be very merciful when he wants to be.” Was Mozun’s newfound compassion on Wu Xingyun’s behalf?
If Wu Xingyun’s ‘death’ had been one of the main reasons for the ongoing war, then what reasons did Mozun have now?
But could the wrongs done in the past by the Federation simply be forgotten? How could they be erased?
The abandonment, the deceit, the murders, the descent into hell. Who’d be lenient against someone who inflicted such suffering? Who was capable of writing all that off with a stroke?
Lowering his head, Wu Xingyun didn’t know what to say. After a long while, he finally told Mozun: “I want to go see my home.”
Apparently Mozun had an inkling of Wu Xingyun’s inner conflict. He tenderly stroked Wu Xingyun’s hair, saying: “If you say no, know that……I won’t make things difficult for you.”
“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Wu Xingyun rejoined, “I just meant I want to visit my parents and elder brothers.”
Mozun simply nodded: “Alright, I already intended to go with you. Let’s leave here.”
On the next voyage, Mozun made no attempt to travel incognito. He was in his own territory, without need of a commercial spacecraft.
Their cabin was bigger, with plenty of room for Mozun to play with his lover as he wished. But Mozun merely leaned against the porthole, observing Wu Xingyun’s profile.
Rather unusually, Wu Xingyun had been standing completely still for two hours. Mozun hadn’t moved from his position either.
Finally Mozun couldn’t help himself though, asking: “What are you thinking about?”
“I’m thinking……if only those first Federation people were still alive,” Wu Xingyun replied.
Mozun laughed: “No one can live forever. Besides, as I said, I won’t make things difficult for you. No matter what. I think maybe after you’ve gone home, you won’t feel so awkward.”
Raising an eyebrow, Wu Xingyun didn’t quite grasp Mozun’s meaning.
And after that Mozun said nothing else on the subject. He didn’t want to push Wu Xingyun into the Alliance’s fierce fight any more than he wanted to push Wu Xingyun back to the Federation.
But he’d been preparing for Wu Xingyun’s probable hesitation for years.
It took them about a month and a half to arrive at Liu-Mang-Xing, the planet where Wu Xingyun’s parents lived.
Before Wu Xingyun had gone through a black hole for the first time, Liu-Mang-Xing had been where Federation had put the Marshal Shi Fei on trial. Wu Xingyun felt he could never forget what had happened on this planet.
The siege against Mozun hadn’t just torn Wu Xingyun’s body. It’d ripped his heart apart too.
He remembered being captured by Mozun, being taken off planet in Mozun’s escape, leaving behind ashes and ruins. Now, setting foot on the planet again, Wu Xingyun was shocked to discover wreckage nowhere to be seen, but instead tidy streets and residential areas, trees with heart-shaped leaves planted everywhere. Just the way Liu-Mang-Xing had been when he’d first seen it.
“I recall you saying a long time ago you wanted to live where the tree leaves were heart-shaped.” Mozun smiled. “Do you want to go home first, or do you want to roam around first?”
After dithering for a minute, Wu Xingyun decided: “I want……to walk around on my own.”
“That’s fine,” Mozun said, “I’ll wait for you at your parents’ house. I’ll always wait for you.”
Last time Mozun had said: “I’ll be here, waiting for you to come back.” And then they had parted……
But this time Mozun watched Wu Xingyun’s body gradually fade away from sight. And after the soldier turned completely invisible, the corners of Mozun’s mouth curled slightly up.
“I believe you won’t hesitate much more,” Mozun murmured to the air. Humming, he slowly made his way down the streets to Wu Xingyun’s family home.
The first place Wu Xingyun went to was a bookstore.
Beforehand, it’d been Wu Xingyun’s deep-rooted understanding that enemy-occupied territories would be decidedly awful places.
Therefore, when Wen Nuo had told Wu Xingyun that Liu-Mang-Xing had fallen to the Alliance, Wu Xingyun hadn’t only been worried about his own family, he’d also fretted over all the other Federal citizens.
Now Wu Xingyun found his concern had been unnecessary.
Things on the planet were no different than when it’d been under the Federation government.
In the back lanes elderly women still peddled vegetables, their prices hardly risen.
Passionate young people massed in front of the former courthouse, agitating for higher wages, as passerbys came and went with apathetic expressions.
Even the large screen in the central town plaza was the same as in Wu Xingyun’s memory.
Blaring the latest news, it included a live broadcast of a current Alliance-Federation battle.
The new female Federation president was urging citizens of enemy-occupied areas to rise up against their horrid oppressor, the Night Shard. From the other side, Liu Meng appealed to any willing person to join the Demon Army and fight off the Federation under the protection of the mutants.
It was even brazenly publicized that Federation troops were defecting. Blankly watching the screen, Wu Xingyun was surprised when a little girl selling roses ran up to him: “Sir, buy a flower!”
Everything seemed to be operating as a regular society. Nothing matched the Federation’s propaganda that occupied territories were suffering travails and hardships.
Then the screen switched to its primetime show.
Everyone loved ‘Star River Team,’ and it played as it had for years, with the same repetitive plotline. Not even the character visuals had changed.
There came the: “Hahaha, I’m back!” Pedestrians heard the sound and stopped their footsteps, raising their heads to watch the absolutely moronic show that ostensibly would never end.
Remaining invisible, Wu Xingyun walked to his parents’ housing complex and got on the elevator.
Riding the elevator was the same elderly neighbor Wu Xingyun had met last time he’d visited with Mozun. Only now she was completely white-haired and toothless.
Bragging to her grandson alongside her, she said: “Speaking of the devil, I once rode this same elevator with the Night Shard. He was much better-looking than he is on TV.”
" "Ding. The elevator stopped at Wu Xingyun’s home floor. Wu Xingyun found it a little odd. He hadn’t pressed the button for it and neither had the grandmother. So who had?
The elevator door leisurely slid open, revealing a tall, slender man with an amiable smile.
“Look,” the grandmother explained to her grandson, “The Night Shard looks like this man, only a bit more handsome……”
The grandson bobbed his head: “He doesn’t look like the devil in the cartoon……”
Wu Xingyun stealthily exited the elevator. When its door closed again, the corridor appeared empty.
Expending his energy, Wu Xingyun’s form gradually came into view.
Taking a step forward, Mozun pulled at Wu Xingyun’s hand: “I’ve been waiting a long time for you. Let’s go in together.”
A little puzzled, Wu Xingyun asked: “You’ve been waiting here the whole time? Why didn’t you go in?”
Mozun laughed: “I’m afraid of my fierce father-in-law. I don’t dare drop by alone. But if you’re with me, I’ll have the courage to go in.”
Tilting his head, Wu Xingyun gave Mozun an inquisitive look.
“When he sees me, it reminds him of how you died,” Mozun told Wu Xingyun, “He’s already very old, it’s not good for his health to get angry every day……I usually have other people take care of necessary matters. As much as possible, I don’t show my face.”
Nodding, Wu Xingyun pressed the doorbell.
The door opened, answered by Wu Xingyun’s mother.
Her eyes skimmed over Wu Xingyun, not registering him, but instead staring at Mozun behind him.
But after a second, it dawned on her.
“Xingyun……?” Her voice almost timid, “Is it……is it you?”
Wu Xingyun couldn’t hold back any longer. He threw himself at his mother, wrapping her in a hug: “Mom……it’s me, I’ve come back……
